Letter tray



g- 11, 1964 F. w. FROMMGEN 3,144,134

LETTER TRAY Filed Dec. 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR FRED W FROMMGEN BY wa ATTORNEY g- 1964 P. w. FROMMGEN LETTER TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26, 1962 VE w TW 9 WW MGA 5 a 6w 6 F G m 5 cm W 5 a Z 7 4 m m a F United States Patent M 3,144,134 LETTER TRAY Fred W. Fromrngen, Watertown, Wis., assignor to Waldorf Paper Products Company, St. Paul, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed Dec. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 246,950 9 Claims. (Cl. 211126) This invention relates to an improvement in letter tray and deals particularly with an inexpensive double deck tray of the type normally used for temporarily holding incoming and outgoing mail.

Letter trays are commonly used on office desks to temporarily contain incoming and outgoing mail. These trays usually include two vertically spaced tray sections, and are normally made of metal. In view of this fact, they are relatively expensive to use, and are easily bent in the event they are accidentally pushed off the side of the desk. It is an object of the present invention to provide a letter tray which is inexpensive to produce and which is less easily damaged than trays made of light weight sheet metal.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of a letter tray which may be formed of paperboard such as corrugated board or fiberboard, and which may be supplied in fiat form. As a result, the storage required for the letter trays is very small as the trays may be folded into compact flat form.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a tray which may be set up in an extremely short period of time by persons unskilled in the art by following simple readily understandable directions.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a tray which preferably includes an outer shell which forms the walls of the tray, and two tray members which may be supported withinthe walls and readily locked into place.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the letter tray in its erected form.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken on a vertical plane indicated by the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1. 1

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a corner of 'one of the trays showing a step in the erection of the letter tray.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing a subsequent step in the folding operation.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURES 3 and 4 showing a subsequent step in the folding operation.

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view of the wall portion of the letter tray in blank form.

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the blank from which the upper tray platform is formed.

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic view of the bottom platform forming structure.

The letter file A includes an outer wall portion which is indicated in general by the-numeral 10, a top platform structure which is indicated in general by the numeral 11, and a bottom platform which is indicated in general by the numeral 12. The wall portion 10 supports the upper and lower platforms in vertically spaced relation as best indicated in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

The wall portion includes a backpanel 13 which is hingedly connected along vertical parallel foldlines 14 3,144,134 Patented Aug. 11., 1964 line 16 to a second pair of generally trapezoidal front flaps 20. As indicated, the lower edges 21 and 22 of the flaps 17 and are longer than the upper edges 23 and 24 thereof, and locking tongues 25 and 26 extend downwardly from the lower edges 21 and 22 near the free ends of these flaps.

Side flanges 27 are foldably connected to the upper edges of the side panels 15 along a double score line 29 or a wide score line, and a back flange 30 is hingedly connected along the upper edge of the back panel 13 along this same fold line. Pairs of locking tongues 31 project from the free edges of the flanges 27, and locking tongues 32 project from the free edge of the flange 30.

A bottom back flange 33 is foldably connected to the lower edge of the back panel 13 along a fold line 34, and tongue receiving slots 35 are provided in the back panel 13 just above the fold line 34. A similar pair of locking slots 36 are provided in the back panel 13 spaced from the upper edge thereof, the purpose of the slots 35 and 36 being to receive projecting tongues on the lower and upper platform panels as will be described.

The top partition structure 11 includes a rectangular platform panel 37 which is of proper width to fit between the side walls 15 of the wall structure, the opposite side edges of the panel 37 being connected along fold lines 39 to platform side flanges 40. A pair of projecting tongues 41 are provided on the edge 42 of the platform panel 37, the tongues 41 being spaced similarly to the slots 36 in the back panel 13 so as to extend therethrough. Slots 43 are provided in the panel 37 inwardly of the locking tongues 41, the slots 43 being spaced similarly to the tongues 32 on the back flange 30 to accommodate the same. Slots 44 are also provided in the platform panel 37, the slots 44 being spaced inwardly of the fold lines 13 and spaced similarly to the projecting tongues 31 on the side flanges 27 to accommodate the same.

The forward edge of the platform panel 37 is hingedly connected along a fold line 45 to a pair of trapezoidal flaps 46 which follow the shape of the front flaps 17 on the side panels 15, but are slightly larger so as to enclose the front flanges 17 and cover the entire forward surface thereof.

As is evident from the drawings, the lower edges of the flaps 46 which are connected along the fold line 45 to the partition 35 are considerably longer than the upper edges of the flaps which are connected along the wide score line or double score lines 47 to trapezoidal shaped flaps 49. These flaps 49 are generally the same outline shape ,as the flaps 46 and are intended to fold inwardly therefrom. Projecting tongues 50 may be provided which are intended to extend into slots or apertures 51 in the partition panel 37 when the structure is assembled as will be later described.

The diagonally extending inner edges of the flaps 45 are hingedly connected along the double score lines 52 to locking flaps 53 which are provided with laterally extending tongues 54. These laterally extending tongues .54 become downwardly extending tongues when the flaps 53 are folded inwardly of the flaps 49 and are also designed to extend into the apertures 51.

The lower partition unit 12 is very similar in most respects to the unit 11. The partition unit 12 includes a partition panel 55 generally similar in width to the back panel 13 and in length to the side panels 15. The partition panel 55 is connected along parallel fold lines 56 to side flanges 57. Tongues 59 project from the rear edge 60 of the panel 55 and are spaced similarly to the spacing of the slots 35 in the back panel 13 so as to extend therethrough in the assembled condition of the tray. Trapezoidal flaps 61 are hingedly connected to the forward edge of the panel 55 along a fold line 62. The

trapezoidal flaps are similar to the flaps 46 and are designed to lie outwardly of the front flaps 20 on the side panels 15. The relatively short upper edges of the flaps 61 are connected along double score lines 63 to trapezoidal liner flaps 64 having projecting tongues 65. The diagonal inner edges of the flaps 61 are connected along the double score lines 66 to locking flaps 67 provided with projecting tongues 69. The tongues 65 and 69 are designed to engage into properly spaced apertures 70 along the forward edge of the partition panel 55.

The three parts 10, 11, and 12 may be quickly and easily assembled into the letter tray A illustrated in FIG- URE l of the drawings. The wall portion is folded along the fold lines 14 to fold the side walls 15 into parallel relation and at right angles to the rear wall 13. The back flange 33 is folded forwardly into right angular relation to the back panel 13, and the side flanges 57 of the bottom partition panel 55 are folded upwardly into right angular relation. The tongues 59 are then inserted through the slot 35. The front flaps on the side walls are folded inwardly into a common plane, and the forward portion of the lower partition panel is then folded to enclose these front flaps 20 in a manner which will be later described.

The flanges 40 of the upper partition panel 37 are then folded upwardly, and the partition panel is inserted between the side walls 15, the projecting tongues 41 extending through the upper slots 36. The side flanges 27 and back flange 30 of the wall portion may then be folded inwardly and downwardly, the locking tongues 31 of the side flanges 27 engaging into the slots 44, and the locking tongues 32 of the back flange 30 extending into the slots 33. The front flaps 17 at the forward edge of the side panels 15 are then in the position illustrated in FIG- URE 3 of the drawings. These front flaps 17 are then folded into a common plane, the downwardly projecting tongues 25 then engaging into the slots or apertures 51 as shown in FIGURE 4 of drawings.

The three hingedly connected flaps on the forward edge of the partition panel 37 are then folded upwardly along the fold line 45 to lie in face contact with the forward surface of the flaps 17, and the similarly shaped liner flaps 64 are then folded along the double score line 63 to lie in face contact with the inner surfaces of the front flaps 17 as indicated in FIGURE 5 of the drawings, the tongues 65 extending into the apertures 51. As a final step of the assembly, the locking flaps 53 are folded along the double score line 52 to position the locking flaps 53 in face contact with the liner flaps 64. When in this position, the projecting tongues 54 extend into the slots or apertures 51 to hold the structure assembled.

As the front flap structure of the lower partition panel 55 is substantially identical to that described, it is folded in the same manner. Normally, the front flap structure of the lower partition unit is assembled before the upper partition is inserted, but this is a matter of choice.

It will be noted that the assembled structure comprises two trays in superimposed relation, each of which includes, in eifect, a V-shaped notch at the center of the forward wall so as to simplify the removal of papers therefrom. Due to the fact that the device is made of paperboard, it is relatively flexible and resilient, and may be dropped without injury. The letter tray is relatively inexpensive as compared to those made of sheet metal, and may be shipped and stored in a flat state.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in letter tray, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A letter tray including,

a wall portion including a back panel, a pair of side panels hinged to opposite edges of said back panel,

and two pairs of vertically spaced front flaps folded into a common plane from the forward edges of said side panels,

a bottom platform including a bottom panel of proper width extended between said side panels, and platform flaps foldably connected to the forward edge of said bottom panel folded outwardly of the lower pair of said front flaps and including extensions foldably connected to said platform flaps and lying inwardly of said front flaps,

means securing the rear of said platform to said back panel,

an upper platform including a bottom panel of a width fitting between said side panels and including top platform flaps hinged to the forward edge thereof folded upwardly outwardly of the upper pair of front flaps, and flap extensions folded over and inwardly of these front flaps, and

means securing the rear edge of said top platform to said back panel.

2. The structure of claim 1 and in which said means securing said platforms to said back panel comprise tongues projecting through slots in said back panel.

3. The structures of claim 1 and in which said top platform bottom panel includes side flanges extending upwardly from the edges thereof inwardly of said side panels, and

side flanges on the upper edges of said side walls folded down inwardly of said platform side flanges.

4. The structure of claim 3 and including locking tongues on said side flanges on said side panels extending through slots in said top platform bottom panel.

5. The structure of claim 2 and including a back flange hingedly connected to the upper edge of said back panel, and locking tongues on said back flange extending through said top platform bottom panel inwardly of said tongues on said bottom panel.

6. A letter tray including a wall portion including a back panel, a pair of side panels hinged to opposite side edges of said back panel, and two pairs of vertically spaced front flaps hinged to the forward edges of the side panels and folded into a common plane in opposed relation,

upper and lower platform panels extending from one side panel to the other, and from said back panel to said front flaps,

means securing the rear portions of said platform panels to the rear portions of said wall portions,

said front flaps being of trapezoidal shape, and wider along their lower edges than along their parallel upper edges,

trapezoidal flaps hinged to the forward edges of said platform panel and folded up into substantially contiguous relation to said front flaps on said side panels,

extension flaps hingedly connected to the upper edges of said trapezoidal flaps on said platform panels and folded over to extend inwardly of said front flaps, and

locking flaps hingedly connected to the inner inclined edges of said trapezoidal flaps and folded inwardly of said extension flaps and into locking engagement with said platform panels.

7. The structure of claim 6 and in which the platform panels include slots into which said locking flaps extend.

8. A letter tray including a wall portion including a back panel, a pair of side panels hinged to opposite side edges of said back panel, and two pairs of vertically spaced front flaps hinged to the forward edges of the side panels and folded into a common plane in opposed relation,

upper and lower platform panels extending from one side panel to the other, and from said back panel to said front flaps,

tongues on the rear edges of said platform panels,

said back panel including slots through which said tongues extend,

said front flaps being of trapezoidal shape, and wider along their lower edges than along their parallel upper edges,

trapezoidal flaps hinged to the forward edges of said platform panel and folded up into substantially contiguous relation to said front flaps on said side panels,

extension flaps hingedly connected to the upper edges of said trapezoidal flaps on said platform panels and folded over to extend inwardly of said front flaps, and

locking flaps hingedly connected to the inner inclined edges of said trapezoidal flaps and folded inwardly of said extension flaps and into locking engagement with said platform panels,

side platform flanges on the upper platform panel eX- tending upwardly in face contact with said side panels, and

side panel flanges hingedly connected to the upper edges of said side panels and folded inwardly of said side platform flanges into locking engagement with said upper platform panel.

9. The structure of claim 8 and including a back flange foldably connected to the upper edge of said back panel and folded inwardly of the upper portion of said back panel into locking engagement with said upper platform panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,720,484 Lantz July 9, 1929 2,229,425 Tanner Jan. 21, 1941 3,006,523 Keith Oct. 31, 1961 

1. A LETTER TRAY INCLUDING, A WALL PORTION INCLUDING A BACK PANEL, A PAIR OF SIDE PANELS HINGED TO OPPOSITE EDGES OF SAID BACK PANEL, AND TWO PAIRS OF VERTICALLY SPACED FRONT FLAPS FOLDED INTO A COMMON PLANE FROM THE FORWARD EDGES OF SAID SIDE PANELS, A BOTTOM PLATFORM INCLUDING A BOTTOM PANEL OF PROPER WIDTH EXTENDED BETWEEN SAID SIDE PANELS, AND PLATFORM FLAPS FOLDABLY CONNECTED TO THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID BOTTOM PANEL FOLDED OUTWARDLY OF THE LOWER PAIR OF SAID FRONT FLAPS AND INCLUDING EXTENSIONS FOLDABLY CONNECTED TO SAID PLATFORM FLAPS AND LYING INWARDLY OF SAID FRONT FLAPS, MEANS SECURING THE REAR OF SAID PLATFORM TO SAID BACK PANEL, AN UPPER PLATFORM INCLUDING A BOTTOM PANEL OF A WIDTH FITTING BETWEEN SAID SIDE PANELS AND INCLUDING TOP PLATFORM FLAPS HINGED TO THE FORWARD EDGE THEREOF FOLDED UPWARDLY OUTWARDLY OF THE UPPER PAIR OF FRONT FLAPS, AND FLAP EXTENSIONS FOLDED OVER AND INWARDLY OF THESE FRONT FLAPS, AND MEANS SECURING THE REAR EDGE OF SAID TOP PLATFORM TO SAID BACK PANEL. 